Under-fire manager Mark Hughes bemoaned the worst display of his QPR tenure but vowed to fight on after Saturday's defeat to fellow strugglers Southampton.

Much was made of the game's importance to the future of both the Welshman and Southampton boss Nigel Adkins, whose side headed to Loftus Road a point and a place better off than the hosts.

QPR, though, failed to turn up and went off at half-time to a chorus of boos, having deservedly fallen behind to Rickie Lambert and Jason Puncheon goals.

Junior Hoilett clawed one back four minutes into the second half but Southampton ensured a 3-1 victory courtesy of a late Anton Ferdinand own goal, leaving the Rs without a win this season and their manager under increasing pressure.

Asked if it was the worst QPR performance of his time in charge, Hughes said, "Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.

"Today there was not that intensity. We weren't on the front foot, we weren't anticipating anything, we weren't aggressive enough. All the fundamentals that you need to build a performance [were not there].

"Maybe the anxiety of the significance of the game filtered through to them but, come on, the vast majority of them are very experienced.

"It shouldn't affect them in that manner and it surprised me that possibly it did.

"I can well understand the reaction [from the fans]. In fairness, it was exactly my reaction to that performance.

"We are not going to hide or try to make it positive out of a very big negative because it was a huge game for everybody connect with Queens Park Rangers, including myself, players, staff and fans.

"We have not performed, unfortunately, so when that happens it puts us in a situation that no-one anticipated this year but we are where we are."

QPR chairman Tony Fernandes has previously been forthright in his public backing of Hughes, who insists he has no intention of walking away.

"I don't run away from challenges," he said. "This is a huge challenge. It was a huge challenge in January when I undertook it.

"There weren't too many people queuing up when I decided it was the right role for me. I knew it was going to be problematic. We all understood that.

"This year we obviously had real expectations and I was quite prepared to raise expectations because I thought we would have a good season.

"It hasn't quite happened, unfortunately, and because we have raised expectations more people are disappointed."

Some QPR fans held up a sign saying 'Harry, come and save us', referring to former Tottenham boss Redknapp, and Southampton boss Adkins feels for his opposite number.

"It's obviously my first year in the Barclays Premier League and you understand now the media attention intensifies," he said.

"But Mark's a good guy, and you're always going to have the intensity of it. You understand that and you get on with it."

Adkins looked relieved by the result in the post-match press conference and lauded his players' for their impressive display in west London.

"It was a good performance from us again today and it culminated in the three points we were after," he said.

"I think it shows a good growing maturity about the players as well. We've come away from home and picked up three good points.

"You're in the Premier League and every game brings its own pressures, its own demands.

"We're after winning games of football. We're after developing the players.

"You could see again that we have players that are maturing all the time. There were some really good performances.

"We had a good defensive shape about ourselves today. We know we can score goals, we scored three goals away from home.

"There is a confidence growing all the time amongst the players we've got.

"In the Premier League, you're always going to get the media attention and when you're at the top or the bottom it is only going to intensify."

Asked if he thinks today's result helps to relief the pressure on his own position, Adkins added: "I am a manager in the Premier League.

"You guys (the media) are always going to keep the pressure on everybody."